[2023] Wild Discussion Showing 2,101-2,150 of 4,060

[Jill]

The Chess pieces would have been great for the multi week

[L Y N N]

*A book from NYPL's 125th Anniversary "Books We Love" lists.

The NYPL listing of 125 favorite books in celebration of their 125th anniversary in 2020. There are 3 lists:
1) Adults:
https://www.nypl.org/books-more/recom...
2) Teens:
https://www.nypl.org/books-more/recom...
3) Kids:
https://www.nypl.org/books-more/recom...

375 books in total. Surely everyone could find one they want to read? It is a quite diverse listing!

[Pamela, Arciform Mod]

Lynn wrote: "*A book from NYPL's 125th Anniversary "Books We Love" lists.

The NYPL listing of 125 favorite books in celebration of their 125th anniversary in 2020. There are 3 lists:
1) Adults:
https://www.ny..."

Ooo, one of my favorite prompts in recent years was the NYPL recommendation one!

[Milena]

Lynn wrote: "*A book from NYPL's 125th Anniversary "Books We Love" lists.

The NYPL listing of 125 favorite books in celebration of their 125th anniversary in 2020. There are 3 lists:
1) Adults:
https://www.ny..."

Love this one.

[RachelG.]

I am not usually a fan of lists but this one even has graphic novels. I saw quite a few books I would read on the NYPL lists.

[dalex]

Lynn wrote: "*A book from NYPL's 125th Anniversary "Books We Love" lists."

I like list prompts but this particular list doesn't interest me much. Very very slim choices for sci-fi and fantasy. Lots of old books. Meh. I think there are three books on the entire list that I'd like to read.

I much prefer the annual Books We Love from NPR. A lot more choices. And no old books.

[Dubhease]

Lynn wrote: "*A book from NYPL's 125th Anniversary "Books We Love" lists.

The NYPL listing of 125 favorite books in celebration of their 125th anniversary in 2020. There are 3 lists:
1) Adults:
https://www.ny..."


Normally, I hate list prompts, but this one is going to be as good as its going to get in terms of a variety of books.

And I love the chess piece prompt.

[Juliet]

I like this list and prefer the ones with older books on them, I have no trouble drowning myself in newer recommendations so sometimes a reminder to look beyond the newest latest things is very useful

[Kahlia]

I really like the chess prompt, and while I don't love list prompts there's some good choices on those lists so I would be ok with it.

I do like the "power of words" prompt, but I wouldn't vote for it, because I feel it's way too close to an existing prompt about "a book where books are important". Whereas the original prompt was more specific about spoken words/communication to me, which is different.

[Joanne]

I probably wouldn't vote for the NYPL one because I went through the adult list (didn't look at the other two categories) and I've already read 54 of the books. I only found 7 I'd want to read. That's not enough options for a list prompt for me. Same problem as the Goodreads best books prompt from last round where I had read well over half the options and had only 3 I wanted to read. The "older classics" type list are less exciting for me. I prefer a list with newer books

[Nadine in NY]

Lynn wrote: "*A book about space/astronomy/astrophysics, set in space, or about ‘making space’ for someone or something.

The first light of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile is anticipated to occur in Fe..."





YES!! I love this idea! Suggest it and I will vote for it!!!

[RachelG.]

Lailah wrote: "Chrissy wrote: "Nadine - to me, one easy way to tell if a novel would fit is if a character is a linguist, interpreter, or language learner. If that is mentioned in the synopsis, then it is likely ..."

I like the wording of “A book about the power of words” but also was good with the original. Didn’t want to see this idea lost in the thread.

[Dubhease]

Given that we're low on character prompts, could the chess prompt be a character prompt?

The rook is sometimes called in other cultures an elephant, and was called in the past a marquess, rector, count or earl.

Pawns are translated as soldiers or peasants. Knights can be translated as horses.

[Tracy]

My intent was that the Chess Prompt at least primarily be a character prompt. I took Rook to be a castle/fortress, so that could also be a setting, but Rook is also apparently a crow, so back to the character option.

[Ellie]

Rooks are one of the European crow species. Rookery was a word used to describe Victorian slums (because rooks roost close together) and of course it's a castle piece, so I think the rook is more interesting if it's not restricted to characters.

I find the difference in the piece names in different languages quite fascinating.

[L Y N N]

dalex wrote: "Lynn wrote: "*A book from NYPL's 125th Anniversary "Books We Love" lists."

I like list prompts but this particular list doesn't interest me much. Very very slim choices for sci-fi and fantasy. Lots of old books. Meh. I think there are three books on the entire list that I'd like to read.

I much prefer the annual Books We Love from NPR. A lot more choices. And no old books."
That sounds like a good one as well! Did I miss this suggestion? I know I didn't participate in the first few polls...

[L Y N N]

Nadine in NY wrote: "Lynn wrote: "*A book about space/astronomy/astrophysics, set in space, or about ‘making space’ for someone or something.

The first light of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile is anticipated t...

YES!! I love this idea! Suggest it and I will vote for it!!!"
I rather assumed you might like it as well! :) That's one! LOL

[L Y N N]

Ellie wrote: "Rooks are one of the European crow species. Rookery was a word used to describe Victorian slums (because rooks roost close together) and of course it's a castle piece, so I think the rook is more interesting if it's not restricted to characters.

I find the difference in the piece names in different languages quite fascinating.."
I agree! I do not play chess, but the different names across cultures/languages is fascinating!

[NancyJ]

Lynn wrote: "*A book about space/astronomy/astrophysics, set in space, or about ‘making space’ for someone or something.

The first light of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile is anticipated to occur in Fe..."

Is there a way to make this more concise?
Also, I'm not sure where you're going with the third part. Do you have any book examples for the third part?

[L Y N N]

NancyJ wrote: "Lynn wrote: "*A book about space/astronomy/astrophysics, set in space, or about ‘making space’ for someone or something.

Is there a way to make this more concise?
Also, I'm not sure where you're going with the third part. Do you have any book examples for the third part?"
I suppose it could be made more precise, however, I, myself, enjoy prompts left open to some interpretation. (I adore 'stretching' prompts when there is a book I really want to read...)

The "making space" could involve many different things:
1) allowing someone to live with you or stay with you, either permanently or temporarily
The Story of Arthur Truluv would be an example of that
2) incorporating a piece of furniture or knickknack into where you live
My immediate thought is the portrait in Ann Patchett's The Dutch House. Of course, there is the stepmother to consider in that book as well... And the fact that Maeve makes space for Danny not just as her younger brother, but as a virtual parent to him.
I'm sure there are much better examples of this but I'm 'spacing' (totally spontaneous--no pun intended!) any others at the moment. Perhaps some creepy book with something that is evil being gifted to someone?
3) A person making space for others in an otherwise solitary lifestyle
A Man Called Ove

Those are my immediate thoughts. I'm sure there are many more...

[Tracy]

Ellie wrote: "Rooks are one of the European crow species. Rookery was a word used to describe Victorian slums (because rooks roost close together) and of course it's a castle piece, so I think the rook is more i..."

Ellie - I didn't know that there had been/are other names for the chess pieces. I looked into it, and yes, it IS fascinating. Lady, Vizier, Prime Minister, Elephant, Fool, Farmer, Virgin, Giraffe, Zebra, Chariot, Minister, Camel, Canon, etc., are just a few.

Given that, I wonder if I should refrain from listing the chess piece names in the prompt suggestion. There may be people in our group in countries that use different terms than I'm used to. Any suggestions with how to proceed with this? Would it be TOO open to use all of the above names? Maybe instead of listing them, just leave people to use whatever names THEY are familiar with? Here is where I have the prompt wording now if I leave out the names.

"A book with a character or setting connected in some way to one of the 6 chess pieces."

[Jill]

"A book with a character or setting connected in some way to one of the 6 chess pieces."

I would say that covers it Tracy

[Dubhease]

Tracy wrote: "Ellie wrote: "Rooks are one of the European crow species. Rookery was a word used to describe Victorian slums (because rooks roost close together) and of course it's a castle piece, so I think the ..."

The list of alternative names wouldn't be in the prompt. But I'd list them in the message so that people would have that information to vote.

[Tracy]

@Dubhease - I’m happy to do that as long as some people don’t them view it as being TOO broad.

I guess I can’t frame it as “Fun Fact: in different points in time and in different cultures chess pieces have some different names, and sometimes different moves. Some of these are/were…”

[Alicia]

Rewording suggestions:

A book related to space - then if someone wants to interpret it as making space or giving space they can. That said, since we already have science and my mind will always think science fiction and outer space I probably wouldn’t vote for it.

A book connected to chess - if it’s open to character and setting then I think you can just do a broader wording. Outside of a book about chess specifically, I don’t understand the setting element. If you do really want to add setting and character I think you can just leave it as “a book with a character or setting connected to chess” for brevity. I’d vote for the first one, I probably wouldn’t vote for the second

[Mahi]

I think making the chess piece prompt just "connected to chess" takes away from the creativity of thinking of chess pieces and connecting them to the characters/setting.

[Alicia]

Then just “connected to a chess piece”. I think the “some way one of the 6” is just long and unneeded.

That said, if someone wanted to read a book about chess, they may not be able to if just related to a chess piece and the book doesn’t focus on one piece. But you could read something connected to a chess piece if it was the broader chess.

[Tracy]

Mahi wrote: "I think making the chess piece prompt just "connected to chess" takes away from the creativity of thinking of chess pieces and connecting them to the characters/setting."

Yes! I specified the chess pieces so that we could play with those names. I planned on listing some of those ideas: Queen could be Drag Queen, Queen Bee; King could be King of Rock and Roll; Knight could be about a horse or Dark Knight (Batman, right?); Bishop could be about any religious figure; Pawn could be about a soldier or manipulated person. I had NOT intended that a chess story be read, but if that's what someone wants to do, fine.

When we get to Rook, that's where setting comes in, since the Rook is often referred to (and looks like) a castle, tower or fortress. Rook also is a type of crow, and a Rookery is a (simplified definition) nesting group of crows. Sometimes dense slum housing is called a Rookery, so there is another setting option.

[Joy D]

If it says "connected to chess" I would be thinking it means the game of chess. I would not immediately think of one of the six pieces. Just something to consider in wording the prompt.

[Mahi]

Alicia wrote: "Then just “connected to a chess piece”. I think the “some way one of the 6” is just long and unneeded.

That said, if someone wanted to read a book about chess, they may not be able to if just rel..."

I'd be down with this. But I'd vote for either because I love the prompt :)

[dalex]

Lynn wrote: "That sounds like a good one as well! Did I miss this suggestion? I know I didn't participate in the first few polls...."

The NPR list is one that has been on the challenge for the last few years. It hasn't been nominated yet this year.

https://apps.npr.org/best-books/

[Tracy]

I would vote the the NPR List every year because there is so much to choose from. And I love NPR.

[Nancy]

My preference would be character or setting connected to a chess piece, not just connected to chess. Similarly, last year we had a book with a character found in a deck of cards, as opposed to related to a deck of cards.

[Juliet]

I was trying to ignore it , but I can’t anymore. A Rook is NOT a crow. It is a member the corvidae family, which includes crows. But like Raven, Jackdaws and Magpies it is an entirely separate species from crows

[Mandy]

Tracy wrote: "Mahi wrote: "I think making the chess piece prompt just "connected to chess" takes away from the creativity of thinking of chess pieces and connecting them to the characters/setting."

Yes! I speci..."

I love this chess piece prompt especially if all the different pieces were named as examples. I saw Tracy’s list and I would definitely up vote it with all the different ways interpret it.

[Joy D]

It certainly has a lot more options than some of the lists.

I would really like to understand more about the appeal of lists. Don't get me wrong. I am not totally opposed to them. I am just curious.

[Tracy]

@Juliet Brown - sorry for the shorthand re: crows vs rooks.

[Juliet]

Lol, it’s perfectly okay. I know I’m the obsessive one here. Want to peacefully be watching a movie and suddenly hear a rant about how the sound Hollywood uses for eagles isn’t an Eagle sound (it’s a red tailed hawk)? I’m your girl.

[Tracy]

I love crows and hawks, so I can appreciate that.

[dalex]

Joy D wrote: "I would really like to understand more about the appeal of lists. Don't get me wrong. I am not totally opposed to them. I am just curious."

I like lists if they help me discover new books. For me the NPR list is fabulous for that very reason. I think I add about 50 books to my TBR List when they release their list every year.

I'm not so fond of lists that have extremely popular books or "old books" that everyone has heard of (and quite probably read).

[Pearl]

dalex wrote: "Lynn wrote: "That sounds like a good one as well! Did I miss this suggestion? I know I didn't participate in the first few polls...."

The NPR list is one that has been on the challenge for the las..."

I will upvote that.

[Chrissy]

Dalex, you explained the nuance of lists really well! I feel the same as you, which is why I do t like the NYT list much.

[Nadine in NY]

If we are still looking for lists, is anyone interested in the Millions Most Anticipated lists? It's actually the ONLY list I use when looking for new books, but I'm pretty sure it's been suggested here in past years and there was no interest. But maybe it would be nice to use a new list instead of falling back on NPR again?

There are listopias, but they are broken into four lists (perhaps because only one person was creating them and they didn't realize you could recruit others to keep adding to a list).

2013:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...

2014:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...

2015:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...

2016:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

2017:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

2018:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

2019:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

2020:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

2021:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...


2022:
Jan - March https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Apr - June https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
July - Dec part 1 https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
July - Dec part 2 https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

[L Y N N]

dalex wrote: "Lynn wrote: "That sounds like a good one as well! Did I miss this suggestion? I know I didn't participate in the first few polls...."

The NPR list is one that has been on the challenge for the las..."
I think you should suggest it! :)

[L Y N N]

Nadine in NY wrote: "If we are still looking for lists, is anyone interested in the Millions Most Anticipated lists? It's actually the ONLY list I use when looking for new books, but I'm pretty sure it's been suggested..."
Those are good lists as well! Someone needs to suggest some of these! LOL :)

[Jill]

Oh dear. I have looked at all four lists and there is nothing on any of them that I have marked to read. I suppose that shows how out of touch I am!

[Nadine in NY]

Jill wrote: "Oh dear. I have looked at all four lists and there is nothing on any of them that I have marked to read. I suppose that shows how out of touch I am!"



I think you're not the only one, and that's why there was not a lot of interest. But it definitely does NOT have the same old classics and popular books that you find on so many lists! It's all new releases, and it includes a lot of short story collections, plus some memoirs and poetry in addition to novels.

[L Y N N]

Juliet Brown wrote: "I was trying to ignore it , but I can’t anymore. A Rook is NOT a crow. It is a member the corvidae family, which includes crows. But like Raven, Jackdaws and Magpies it is an entirely separate spec..."
:) Thank you!

[Tracy]

@Nadine in NY: Thanks for introducing the Millions Most Anticipated List! I have a few on my TBR already and there are many more that look interesting. If you wanted to suggest this list I’d up vote it for sure :)

[Nancy]

I like lists because they almost always have books on my TBR on them, and getting through that list is part of the reason I do challenges (so basically the opposite of dalex lol). I find other prompts already help me discover new books, so lists help me read the ones I've been putting off.